Home»PR»La Caisse provides a $59.5-million loan to the New Richmond wind farm in Gaspésie

La Caisse provides a $59.5-million loan to the New Richmond wind farm in Gaspésie

MONTRÉAL, July 21, 2016

Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec has announced a $59.5-million term-loan financing in the New Richmond wind farm in Gaspésie, operated by TransAlta Renewables Inc.

The New Richmond wind farm has a capacity of 67.8 megawatts generated by 33 wind turbines. In operation since March 2013, the wind farm is located in three different municipalities on the Gaspésie Peninsula—New Richmond, Saint-Alphonse and Caplan. The output is sold to Hydro-Québec under a 20-year power purchase agreement.

“La Caisse, who already has number of wind power projects in its portfolio, both here and abroad, contributes today to another important renewable energy project for Québec,” said Marc Cormier, Executive Vice-President, Fixed Income at la Caisse. “This financing will provide our clients with stable long-term returns in a promising sector.”

La Caisse is one of the largest private investors in North America’s wind power sector. In Québec it has financed three wind farm projects: Parc des Moulins (Chaudières-Appalaches), Vents du Kempt (Bas-Saint-Laurent) and the construction of the Parc éolien de la Seigneurie de Beaupré (Capitale-Nationale). La Caisse also has a major interest in Invenergy and its portfolio of wind farms across Canada and the U.S., whose generation capacity exceeds 5,000 MW. Globally, la Caisse is also a major shareholder in London Array, the largest offshore wind farm in the world.

ABOUT CAISSE DE DÉPÔT ET PLACEMENT DU QUÉBEC

Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) is a long-term institutional investor that manages funds primarily for public and parapublic pension and insurance plans. As at December 31, 2015, it held $248.0 billion in net assets. As one of Canada’s leading institutional fund managers, CDPQ invests globally in major financial markets, private equity, infrastructure and real estate.